An assisted dying campaigner hopes others will not need to suffer in the same way as both of her parents.
Colette Newton joined hundreds in Westminster today as MPs debated the
Both of her parents died of very aggressive brain tumours, with her father dying of starvation because he could no longer eat or drink.
She told “We were told we couldn’t give him any food or water, despite him asking for it.
“He died through starvation. My mum unfortunately saw that and had to care for him and then she was diagnosed a few years later with the same aggressive brain tumour.”
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Colette Newton hopes others will not suffer like her parents did (Image: Express)
Colette added that she signed up to go to Dignitas to avoid the same fate, however, she was never able to see it through.
“She took a turn for the worse too quickly,” Colette added. “She also had a very traumatic death over three months.
“I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through what they had to go through, or what the wider family had to go through, seeing them suffer like that.
“Hopefully, there will be a change in the law today and no one else will have to suffer.”
She added for many, it’s about “having that choice”.
Daily Express Give Us Our Last Rights campaign
The Express’s launched two years ago with the The father-of-two feared that, like his daughter Katie, he would suffer a slow and agonising death from his incurable cancer.
David’s powerful appeal led to more articles about those affected by the ban on assisted dying.
Working with campaigners Dignity in Dying, we have travelled far to make the case for change.
There was , who held her husband Andrew’s hand as he took a drug overdose when his terminal cancer became too much.
There was, whose wife Helen died of suffocation after she declined her ventilator while dying of motor neurone disease.
And there was , who accompanied her husband Geoff to Dignitas at a cost of £14,000.
Recently, and added her voice to calls for a fairer, more compassionate system.
She launched a petition in January 2024 with the charity Dignity in Dying and the Daily Express calling for a debate and a free vote by MPs on assisted dying.